Re: Eph. 6:10-18 and Vernon's opinion

Vernon
I am sure the apostle Paul would prefer you to apply Galatians 5 vs 12 to
yourself.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vernon Jenkins" <vernon.jenkins@virgin.net>
To: "Roger G. Olson" <rogero@saintjoe.edu>; <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 10:19 PM
Subject: Re: Eph. 6:10-18 and Vernon's opinion

> Roger wrote, "I have no idea what Eph. 6:10-18 has to do with
> non-evolutionary non-Old Earth creationism?... Please explain the
relevance
> of this passage, Vernon."
>
> Here, through the Apostle Paul, the Lord is revealing truths that would
> otherwise be completely beyond our powers to determine for ourselves, viz
> (1) the reality of the spiritual battle that faces every Christian in this
> life; hence, the actual existence of a hierarchy of powerful supernatural
> beings whose prime objective is to sever our relationship with the Lord
and
> entrap our souls by destroying the authority of the Scriptures and the
> Gospel of Christ;
> (2) such powers hide behind the persons with whom we have contact in our
> daily lives; we are informed that those individuals and organisations
which
> seek to deflect us from our Christian walk are really the dupes of Satan -
> as putty in his hands, they unwittingly fulfil the requirements of his
> agenda;
> (3) the nature of the 'full armor of God': (a) the belt of truth; (b) the
> breastplate of righteousness (i.e. belief in the unique power of Christ to
> save sinners); (c) a full accepance of the gospel of peace; (d) the shield
> of faith; (e) the helmet of salvation; (f) the sword of the Spirit (which
is
> the word of God); (g) constant prayer.
>
> Roger, I believe the foregoing is particularly apposite to my thesis, for
I
> am struck by the glaring omissions in the armour of fellow Christians on
> this list. For example, those who refuse to examine the evidence that
> supports my claims clearly have no interest in buckling on the 'belt of
> truth'; and as for the 'sword of the Spirit', where are we to find a
> generally-acknowledged 'word of God'? (surely, only by accepting the Bible
> as God's unadulterated, and unadulterable, revelation to man!). Further,
you
> must agree that the philosophy of evolution is no friend of the Bible. In
> the hands of atheists and TEs it behaves as a cancer, progressively
> destroying the authority of the Judaeo-Christian Scriptures, and
> substituting confusion - surely a high-priority objective in the satanic
> agenda!
>
> Finally, let me say that I, personally, have found "The Screwtape Letters"
> of C.S.Lewis to be most helpful to the understanding of this much
neglected
> of life's realities - and strongly recommend that you read it in
conjunction
> with Ephesians 6:10-18.
>
> Vernon
> www.otherbiblecode.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Roger G. Olson" <rogero@saintjoe.edu>
> To: <asa@calvin.edu>
> Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 1:11 AM
> Subject: Eph. 6:10-18 and Vernon's opinion
>
>
> > Vernon Jenkins wrote (inter alia)in response to Michael Roberts:
> > "...
> >> (3) You appear to exhibit a certain ambivalence toward Paul's solemn
> >> advice
> >> to Christians, as it is succinctly expressed in Ephesians 6:10-18. Can
> >> you
> >> please clarify your position in respect of this?
> >
> > ..."
> >
> > I have no idea what Eph. 6:10-18 has to do with non-evolutionary non-Old
> > Earth creationism? Here is the passage from the NIV:
> >
> > "10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the
> > full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
> > schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against
> > the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world
> > and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
> > 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
> > comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
> > everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
> > around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and
> > with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of
> > peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with
which
> > you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the
> > helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God.
> > 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
> > requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all
> > the saints."
> >
> > Please explain the relevance of this passage, Vernon.
> >
> > Roger
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
Received on Mon Feb 21 18:06:05 2005